The Long Awaited Transition

My story:

I've tossed up the idea of transitioning for over almost a year now. In October 2009 the bug really bit me when I was vacationing in DC. There were more beautiful naturals there than I've ever seen in my life, no joke. While riding the metro one night I was sitting down from this beautiful 4a/b chick that had me completly infatuated over her beautiful twist out. When I came back to Houston I knew natural is where I wanted to be. However, somewhere along the way I got side tracked and let my dream dissipate and told my sold myself the lie I've been told my entire life, 'you need a realxer'. I even puprosely avodided any natural/BC/transitiong post becasue I had once again convienced myself that it's noooo way I could ever do it.

Like many other black ladies I've had relaxed hair as long as I could ever recall. I took it as a way of life. It's just what we do to keep the 'kitchen' clean. Plus, I've always had the false idea that my hair was not 'good' enough to be natural. Isn't it sad how we raise our children to think that one's hair texture/length almost makes them superior to others?


I'm so excited to transition. As of right now I'm not really all that attached to my relaxed hair. If I had enough NG I would most likely BC right now. My hair is currently the longest it's ever been, but I really love the versatility being natural brings. Plus, I feel like natural hair is more 'me' becasue it is 'me'! I'm not really addicted to length too much right now. I don't have any strict plans for my hair during my transition. Whenever something stops working, I'll change things up. I plan to transition for 9-12 months (last relaxer was May 21, 2010), and trim/cut as I need/want to. So far I've been wearing a phony pony, buns, and braidouts. Co wash 1-2 x per week and shampooing as needed to remove buildup. DC at least once a week, protein as needed, and daily moisturizing. All in all I'm having a love affair with my new growth. It's really hard to keep my hands out of it!!!

I look foward to sharing my journey to the world and maybe one day being an inspiration to someone else. I welcome any comments or questions, I love to talk hair and can't wait to pick the brains of some of you ladies that are way ahead in the game.


Smoochies



Here are a few pics of my:

October 2009: in DC the night of insperation


Jan 2008: Start of HHJ as a relaxed head



May 2010: Last relaxer


Braidout



2 months post NG



2 months post NG

Hi an welcome! I look forward to following your story.

Welcome! Stay encouraged during this journey.

welcome!!!

Welcome and good luck on your journey!!!

Welcome fellow transitioner! I am just as excited for you as I am for my own transition!
I look forward to following your journey!! =]

Welcome Lady!!!! Were those highlights in the Jan 08 pic?? They're really pretty! I really like your braid out too!! Good luck and I'll be following your journey

Welcome to curl street!

Welcome!!!

Welcome and good luck on your journey!!!

Welcome to CS. Did I read that you were from Houston? You are going to enjoy this journey and the support that you will receive on this site!!

Look forward to you BC...in 9 -12 months...or maybe sooner!!

Hello there and welcome to Curl Street! Looking forward to following your journey!

Welcome to Curl Street!

welcome

Welcome to Curl Street! Good luck on your journey!

Welcome...come on in! ;-)

Thanx ladies for all the warm welcomes!!

KinkyNappyHappy: I am a fellow Houstonian!!! Not too many naturals in our neck of the woods. However, I’m looking forward to meeting more curly heads during some of the meet ups.

My hair has continued to do some mad shedding!! Along with a bit of breakage. I would do my usual cowash/shampoo, DC, moisturize, seal, air dry, protective style, moisturize and seal daily.. My hair would look and feel ‘ok’ for about 2 days tops and then immediately turn into a hard brillo pad!! So I decided to try something new which resulted in fantastic results.

Here’s what I did differently:

Made four sections and applied V05 conditioner to my dry hair and detangled/removed shedded hair Braided each section and cowashed each section individually. Applied DC to each section, reclipped. Rinsed DC from each section individually in shower. Results, 90% decrease in tangles.

Applied leave in conditioner (HH LTR to one side and Giovanii Smooth as Silk to another because I was seeing which my hair likes the most) to each section of hair individually. Results, able to concentrate on each section, better product distribution.

Did not apply she abutter, moisturizer, or seal with oil. Results very supple hair.

Respritz hair with Shescentit Moisture Mist daily and reapplied very small amount of creamy leave in. Results, very moisturized soft hair daily (new growth included). NO CRUNCH.

Applied dime sized amount of cone (Argan oil from Sally’s) to only the exposed part of hair for shine purposes only. ***spoiler for some I know.

Stopped applying Beemine growth serum to scalp.
　
All in all I’m very excited about these small tweaks that have made a huge impact in my hairs health. I think I was in denial before, but I really don’t think my hair likes oils (shea butter included). It leaves me with a hard crunchy mess which then leads to breakage. I’ve read that many naturals love using conditioner for their leave in, but I thought it would leave my relaxed hair stiff from build up. At the moment my new growth and relaxed hair are both very happy with the changes I made.

Great story. Looks like you are in your way to healthy natural hair.

Welcome!!

Hi SimplyC...

You are correct; there are not very many naturals here compared to up north. However, we are getting there!! I hope we have another meet-up soon, because CN H-Town curlies are growing in numbers.

I see you tweeked your regiment. That's good you were able to find a method and products that works for both textures. Moisture is the key to a successful transition I've read from watching IntelligentBeauty's and BlondeByDesire's transition. You can find their thread here if you go back a pages. They both transitioned for about a year.

Just stopping by to say hi **waving**

Have a great weekend.

KNH

Well,


This weekend I decided to spill the beans to my mother on my decision to go natural. This did not go over too well. I got a ton of grief from my other family members who were in the room as well. One of my Aunts kept insisting that going natural would be only look nice on me if I straightened my natural hair. I told her that was totally defeating the purpose!!!! Everyone’s big question was “what are you going to do with it“? This question truly puzzles me because I find it challenging to explain to other black women (plus those of other races) how I plan to style my hair after my BC. It seems to be easier to show than tell. Heck, it took me doing months of research on the internet before I even had a idea on how to style my hair after my BC. I showed my mother a picture of my NG that I had on my phone and her exact words were ‘this little bit of hair’. My feelings were hurt. I didn’t expect my mother to understand my journey, but I also didn’t expect her to be so mean about it. I was so annoyed by all the negativity that I left. Not one person had anything supportive to say. Latter on that night she called me and I’m sure my tone revealed I was not in the mood to talk at all. She asked what was wrong and I told her that she hurt my feelings and was very negative. In the end she apologized and said she did not intend for her words to be hurtful but recognized how they could be. She also said, “you’re a grown woman and can do what ever you please to do with your hair.”

When I logged on to CN this week I read a quote that I have thus repeated to myself every day….so fitting for what I went through this weekend.

‘If you don't believe it no one else will.’
-Barbara



Anyways, here are my NG pics for month three. I’m so excited with my growth rate thus far. I see my expected transition time getting shorter and shorter. My ultimate goal for when I BC is to have enough hair to wear a head band and do two strand twist.










I put a little IC gel on my NG behind my ear to see how my hair would respond and I love it.

I'm in H-Town too, and your mother sounds like mine. "Your hair is gonna fall out! When you were little i couldn't get a comb through it. Well when you want a perm I'll pay for it" and so forth. Well after i went natural my mom did too! LOL now she can't wait to see what new thing I might do. Just keep at it, she'll come around or just be quiet about it (my granny, and even she came around). Welcome to Curl Street!

awww..welcome!!! You have our support!!! ; )

Welcome! Hope you the best on your transition.



It sounds like you are listening to your hair and making changes as needed. You will have ups and downs. Feel free to reach out to your CN ladies for help. Many of us never had a relaxer or BC’d. I look forward to finding out what else you learn about your hair while you transition.